GPS Glitched Across The US by as Much as 33 Feet. Scientists Have Never Seen This Before. - ScienceAlert
A massive solar storm in November 2025 caused unprecedented GPS disruptions across the United States, shifting positioning by up to 33 feet. Scientists warn that such space weather events pose significant risks to autonomous vehicles and precision agriculture.
Why it matters
As modern infrastructure becomes increasingly reliant on satellite navigation, understanding space weather is vital for protecting critical technology.
Add ScienceAlert on Google Modern agriculture increasingly relies on precision GPS navigation, which can be vulnerable to solar storms. (Alex Potemkin/E+/Getty Images) In November 2025, Earth was buffeted by several massive eruptions of solar material that slammed into the magnetosphere.
For many, the result was wonder. Much of the world watched in awe as a solar superstorm lit up Earth's skies with dazzling auroras to rare low latitudes.
The sword, however, was double-edged. The same storm also wrought havoc on the technology we rely on here on the ground.
And now, scientists led by space physicist Endawoke Yizengaw of The Aerospace Corporation in the US have discovered that the disruption was stranger – and more widespread – than anyone realized.
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